What is contingent workforce management?

With the increase in demand for flexibility in working, everyone must have heard the word ‘Contingent worker’. The gig economy has shown rapid growth in the past few years and the pandemic gave it a boost. Let’s find out more about the contingent workforce and its management. 

Meaning of a contingent workforce 

The contingent workforce is the group of people working for the organization on a project basis. Contingent workers work on a contract basis and generally, they are freelancers, consultants, gig workers, independent contractors, etc. 

These workers are not full-time employees of the company. The contingent workforce culture is on the rise as it provides more flexibility and companies are struggling to find skilled people for open vacancies. 

What is contingent workforce management? 

Contingent workforce management is the organizational function that deals with hiring, managing, and firing the non-permanent workers of the organization. While managing your workforce, it is important to separate permanent and contingent workers for efficient management.  

There can be two approaches to CWM. Either you can treat them the same as your other permanent employees or treat them as a separate group of workers. Organizations often use a combination of both these approaches and handle their contingent workers. 

Whatever be the case, it is important to prioritize the employee experience of all kinds of employees to boost the employer brand of the company. 

Technology to manage a contingent workforce

You can opt for a cloud-based Vendor management system. A VMS is a software that helps companies in hiring, engaging, and managing a contingent workforce. It is an easy-to-use solution for all managing challenges related to contingent workforce management. VMS acts as a mechanism to procure contingent workers from staffing agencies. 

Pros and cons of a contingent workforce 

‍Pros

Less training is required: The people who are working on a contract basis are already experts in what they do, so no training is required. 

Cost-efficient: Contingent workers are cost-efficient as they don’t need additional employee benefits that are required for full-time employees like health insurance. 

Flexible: Companies can scale up and down on procurement needs-based, on-off, and peak seasonal demands easily without getting into any long-term relationship. 

Access to top talent: Companies can have on-demand access to highly skilled people irrespective of the location of the contingent worker. 

Cons

Harder communication: Contingent workers may not invest time in adopting a company's values and culture, as they are not full-time employees. Communicating and building a rapport takes more effort with contingent workers. 

Compliance is difficult: Labor laws for different locations are different. Companies need to make sure to provide a very detailed job description that involves everything. 

Disconnected workforce: There can be discrepancies between permanent and contingent workers sometimes. Contractors are treated differently and this might come in between team unity.

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